Survivor XL191

XL191 - Walter Soplata, Newbury, Ohio, USA

This is the stripped-out cockpit section of a Victor K.2, XL191, late of 55 Sqn. Built as a B.2 and later converted to a K.2, it had only recently lost its green/grey camouflage for an overall hemp tanker scheme when it crash-landed short of the runway at Mt.Hope (Hamilton), Ontario, on arrival in wretched weather for the Hamilton airshow in June 1986. Most of the airframe was scrapped after spares removal, but the shell of the nose and two ejection seats were left with the Canadian Warplane Heritage for possible display. In those days CWH didn't collect things as modern as the Victor, so they offered the nose for sale; it looked likely to be scrapped but was instead bought by Walter Soplata and hauled back to Ohio in Spring 1987.